“Riccardo Moraschini convinced us not only for how he played last season in Brindisi, but for the enthusiasm and desire to help the team that he came to Milan with. He is a player who is still improving, and has the right mindset for our team. He put himself at the service of Coach Messina with great enthusiasm, so we are very confident that we have achieved a major coup by taking him “. Christos Stavropoulos introduced Riccardo Moraschini to the media today. “I am happy to be here and also about how we worked in this first week. Being here was a goal,” said Moraschini. “I had pointed out to Coach Messina that at Olympiacos we had succeeded with a core of Greek players, so we tried to build a solid core of Italian players in Milan and we agreed to sign Moraschini as well. He wants to help the team and this will be useful, ” Stavropoulos continued.
Here is a summary of the other statements.
The role – “Last year I spent most of my time playing as a point guard, but I had arrived in Brindisi to swing between the 2 and 3 spots, so it’s a role I know already. There is some pressure, but I consider it as a positive sign: when you arrive at a club like this, with a coach and teammates of this magnitude, feeling the pressure of desiring to do well is expected. I wanted this kind of pressure, I wanted the responsibility to do well and improve. I am always available to do what needs to be done.”
Coach Messina – “He is a coach who takes care of the details, it’s easy to see that he has worked at the highest levels and has won a lot. Rarely do you see a coach who is so detail-oriented and who demands such a high level of concentration. For me to be coached by him is personally awesome: I used to watch him on tv, in Bologna, in the derbies, when I was 10-year old. He will make me a lot better, I’m sure of it.”
Why Milan – “I decided to come here because Milan is the top club in Italy, here I have the chance to win and play in the EuroLeague, to improve my skills by facing daily players of incredible skills and being coached by someone like Messina. It was an easy choice.”
The decision – “Before signing I only spoke with Coach Messina. When you choose a team, it is essential to talk to the coach and understand first what he is looking for and what he expects from you. Then I talked to everyone else, especially with Cinciarini, then also Della Valle, Brooks, while I was with the National team. In Milan many things have changed, there has been a small revolution, so for everyone it is a new beginning, not only for me, but also for those who were here the other years.”
Coach Vitucci – “He was happy to see me coming here, I think he also spoke with coach Messina. He texted me, he was happy, he knows Messina well, he knows what he wants. He was the first to congratulate me.”
What has changed – “The key word is trust. I had so many opportunities in my career, but I never had the real chance to play that much. Maybe in Trento I showed something, but I didn’t have a clear role, coming off the bench, but with 15-18 minutes available. In Brindisi, after Wes Clark’s injury, I had so much time to play, I developed confidence and from that point I could play with a light mind, the way I know how to play. Maybe, being 28, I was mentally ready, more experienced, mature in approaching a season really important in the right way, with the right mentality.”
